A Brief History of the DC Universe
by randomideaguy
Summary: I've always wanted to write down a chronological take of the DCU wherein characters are allowed to age and also partake in the historical periods that they are apart of. This is that take.
1. Hawkman

Prince Khufu is an ancient Egyptian Prince, who along with his wife Shayera and the court magician Teth-Adam reportedly transferred the dangerous Starheart away from the Nile, where it was poisoning the locals. According to the legend, Teth betrayed Khufu, killing him with the Starheart in an attempt to take Shayera as his own wife.

However he was soon after murdered by Shayera in turn, vengeance for killing her beloved husband. Shayera returned to Egypt and ruled as one of the few prominent female Pharaohs, recounted in history as "The Crying Queen" for her immense sadness.

The Starheart was later recovered in the 1930s by one Carter Hall, a renowned archeologist.


	2. Shining Knight

Justin Arthur, originally simply known as Sir Justin, was a simple British peasant born in the late 5th century. He was one of many who was inspired by King Arthur and rose up to become one of the Knights of the Round Table. He was charged with getting Arthur's sword Excalibur to safety following Arthur's defeat at the hands of his demented offspring Mordred. Justin got lost in an avalanche in northern Scotland, apparently dying.

Justin was revived, centuries later, in late 19th century England. He briefly teamed with Jonah Hex, adjusting himself to modern living as the two tracked down Jack the Ripper and Vandal Savage (whom Justin believed to be empowered by the same demonic force that drove Mordred). Justin would eventually join Her Majesty's Government, devoting himself to Britain's cause and becoming a legendary hero during the Boer War and World War I.

He would be fatally injured in a mission to assassinate Vandal Savage and while Excalibur was once again lost to the world, although his enchanted armor was passed along to his second in command Percival Sheldrake.


	3. Vandal Savage

Vandal Savage is born in 1227 in Eastern Europe, allegedly the son of a far traveling Mongol marauder and a local Old Prussian tribewoman. He grows up under the threat of war, fighting fiercely against the Teutonic Knights for the survival of his people. He eventually partakes in the Pit of the Untitled, giving himself immortality in a bid to save his people. However, the Old Prussians are still utterly destroyed by the Knights, resulting in Savage assimilating into the new Christian culture and hiding his abilities.

He would go on to be involved in many unsavory things as while his body did not decay with age, his morality did. Still Savage desired death many at times, and made multiple attempts at procuring a successor - Vlad the Impaler, Blackbeard, Napoleon, and Jack the Ripper being among them. He was also an integral part to the German Imperial Court following the rise of Otto Von Bismarck, all the while running his own demented murder schemes on the side.

Savage would eventually find a successor, and none too soon as he was assassinated by a group of British commandos during a raid on his castle in World War I shortly after bestowing his access to the Pit of the Untitled to Ra's al Ghul who would go on to name it the Lazarus Pit.


	4. Ra's al Ghul

Ra's al Ghul was born in 1810, taken from his family and forcibly conscripted into the Janissaries, an elite Ottoman infantry unit loyal only to the Sultan. Ra's was raised as a warrior and a radical, eventually taking place in a rebellion against the "weak Sultan" during the Auspicious Incident in 1826. As he was only a teenagar at the time, Ra's avoided execution but was exiled from the Ottoman Empire.

Ra's would then travel the world, learning fighting abilities and serving whichever cause took his fancy. He had a rage inside and a love for fighting - in a word, he was the perfect successor to Vandal Savage. However, it would take decades for Ra's to meet Savage, and when he did finally meet Savage in 1916, the 116 year old former mercenary was close to death. His dip into the newly christened Lazarus Pit changed that, and using his newfound youth and century of military experience Ra's formed the League of Assassins. Finally he was able to steal Excalibur from Sir Justin, and wielded it himself for many years.

He would then become a powerful behind the scenes figure in the Turkish War of Independence, finally reclaiming a spot in his ancient homeland. It is here that he would meet a special woman and have his first daughter - Talia al Ghul in 1920. Ra's himself would make multiple attempts to raise a successor, including training Bane and after him Bruce Wayne.

He would eventually be killed by his grandson Damian Wayne in 1962.


	5. Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex was born in 1838, he was raised by an alcoholic father until he was taken into slavery by Apaches in 1851 (at age 13) with whom he eventually assimilated and lived with for 3 years until (in 1854) a jealous rival killed him and left him for dead. Hex was found and nursed back to health by a surly fur trader.

He would follow this fur trader (whom he saw as a surrogate father) into the American Civil War until in 1862 Jonah attempted to surrender following the Emancipation Proclamation, after which he narrowly survived the Fort Charlotte Massacre and was falsely (and literally) branded a traitor to the Confederacy.

Jonah would further hone his skills on the Western frontier, avoiding bounty hunters and becoming a bounty hunter himself to make enough money to survive. He eventually joined in Custer's anti-Indian fighting units, but was spared during the Battle of Little Bighorn and instead cursed by an Indian chieftain.

He would be an attempted recruit of Vandal Savage, sending him to London where Hex would track down and kill Savage's other potential successor - Jack the Ripper. Hex was critically injured in this battle and a few years later he would be shot in the back in a bar.


	6. Lincoln March

Lincoln March Wayne was born in 1860, nobody special and simply an outlaw. He would eventually survive and form a racket with Jonah Hex, wherein Hex would collect the bounty on Wayne in multiple towns and save him from hanging at the last moment. However, Hex eventually grew tired of Wayne and abandoned him in the desert one day. Wayne very nearly kills Hex in revenge, but the two are forced to team up to track down a Confederate bounty whose location only Hex knows.

During this they are tracked by the Talon, a warrior for the Court of Owls. Wayne and Hex eventually betray each other, with Wayne barely surviving in the desert. He eventually reconnects with Hex and the two form a successful partnership as bounty hunters, until Wayne is paid by the Court of Owls to assassinate Hex, shooting him in the back in a bar.

Humiliated by his own act of cowardice, Wayne refuses the Court of Owls bounty and turns to alcoholism, making him fairly useless in the upbringing of his two sons Thomas and Phillip. He is kidnapped by the Court of Owls in the early 20th century, forced to become their latest Talon assassin. He would eventually resurface in the 1960s, battling Dick Grayson and attempting to recruit the boy into the Court of Owls.

Lincoln was freed from his programming by a sympathetic Damian Wayne. Lincoln promptly committed suicide.


	7. The Knight

Percival Sheldrake was born in 1888 to an old British aristocratic family. He devoted himself to all the things those of his class were expected to do, becoming well spoken and a good fighter. He distinguished himself in Burma and his career climbed up from there. When an ancient Knight of the Round Table appeared in modern day (fulfilling an old British Legend), Sheldrake was able to climb to the top of a pool of candidates to join Sir Justin's newly formed military unit.

Percival was a close friend of Sir Justin, helping him adjust to modern life and military tactics. He was also a father to his men, most notably hiring and training Alfred Beagle into his squadron. He would pioneer many tactics which are now commonplace among black ops units across the world.

After Sir Justin's death fighting Vandal Savage in 1916, Percival was chosen to don Justin's armor in an attempt to keep morale up (seeing the "Knight" out there kicking British ass). He would go from there to a more ceremonial position as a bodyguard for British officials following the war, occasionally going out on military missions and authoring multiple books on future military policy.

Percival had a son named Cyril in 1926. He was assassinated in September 1939 by Ra's al Ghul briefly before being called in duty by Her Majesty's Government for a recon mission in Poland. Still, his final scholarly paper on military tactics would become the blueprint for the founding of the Special Air Service, Britain's premier black ops unit.


	8. Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred Beagle was born in 1890, just a poor boy from East End who became involved in various petty gangs to put bread on the table. These endeavours eventually led him to Percival Sheldrake, who caught Beagle while the latter attempted to rob the Sheldrake mansion in 1904. Beagle would then become Sheldrake's bodyguard, eventually following Sheldrake into the British Army where he was drafted into Sir Justin's unit and was made to channel his rage into more constructive endeavors.

Beagle would be apart of the classified raid into Prussia (1916) where Vandal Savage was finally assassinated by British Commando forces. He went on to become the commanding officer of his unit as Percival was promoted to Sir Justin's former position as Knight of the British Isles. Afterwards he led his unit in Russia, Turkey (where he first battled Ra's al Ghul), and Ireland where the events of Bloody Sunday caused Beagle to formally resign from the British Army. Beagle would return to East End, taking up a small time stage career under the pseudonym Alfred Pennyworth (coming from Captain Sheldrake frequently commenting "I could find better soldiers at a corner store for a penny's worth" during training).

Though he successfully divorced himself from the British military, Alfred still had a notable history of successful missions. This led to him being a prime candidate to be drafted following the start of hostilities in World War II. Not wishing to take part in another war, Alfred immigrated to the United States, specifically Gotham City, in search of an old American private who had saved his life during the war.

This is how Alfred met Bruce Wayne, who was also returning the United States after years of travel. Alfred became aware of Bruce's plans for a crusade against crime, and with his help Bruce was able to finalize his training and survive the learning curve of his first few years as Batman. Officially, Alfred was the on again off again bodyguard for Wayne and also his personal butler as he got on in age.

Alfred would die in 1961 of a heart attack, mere months before Bruce Wayne's own death.


	9. Thomas Wayne

Thomas Wayne was born in Crime Alley, Gotham City, in 1894. His father was a useless and abusive drunk, leading to Thomas and his younger brother Phillip involving themselves in multiple get rich quick schemes to support their mother until her death of tuberculosis in 1913. Thomas and Phillip gained a little bit of money by creating a bicycle shop (officially owned by their mother). By the time of their mother's death they had scraped enough money together to send Thomas abroad to Paris to begin his education as a doctor.

This was quickly sidelined as the Great War opened up in 1914. Using his connections from school, Thomas was able to join the nascent French Air Force as a volunteer medical pilot, transporting crucial medicines around the war front. He also served as battlefield medic for some time, and he sent the majority of his funds stateside to support his brother Philip. Though it was nothing special to him, Thomas rushed into No Man's Land and rescued one Alfred Beagle, whose life he then saved via a critical operation.

When Thomas returned to the United States, he and Phillip had saved up enough money to purchase a small office just north of Crime Alley. While Thomas operated a cheap community clinic out of the first floor, Phillip formed the "Gotham Wall Street" on the second floor. Soon the brothers were able to purchase an apartment building, and by 1919 they were being invited (primarily on Thomas's war fame, but still) to wealthy persons social gatherings in Gotham City.

It was at one such gathering that Thomas met Martha Kane, the youngest daughter of an Old Money military family. Despite her parents' misgivings, the two would have a quick courtship and marriage, and the new couple would move into a previously abandoned secondary Kane Mansion on the outskirts of the city. As the Roaring 20s came and built, Thomas Wayne grew in stature. But with fame came enemies, particularly in the form of Carmine Falcone.

Thomas and Martha Wayne were tragically gunned down at the peak of their fame - in 1928, just as Thomas had begun his campaign for Mayor of Gotham City.


	10. Phillip Wayne

Phillip Wayne was born in 1896, the younger brother of Thomas Wayne. He helped Thomas run the bicycle shop in the early 1900s and funded his brother's trip to a university in Western Europe with the sale of the shop. During the war, Thomas returned the favor by sending his wages back home to support Phillip's lifestyle. Phillip was not like his brother, and became involved in the wrong sorts of crowd's during his brother's absence, first meeting Carmine Falcone at an underground gambling ring in 1915. Phillip was actually quite a gifted gambler, and by the time his brother returned home in 1918 Philip had multiplied his brother's wages by many times over.

Together, the two formed Wayne Brothers in a small office, running both a doctor's office and an investing service. Here Phillip made many connections across Gotham City, although he was disliked by the Old Money as many still considered him a "street rat" despite his newfound wealth. Phillip's connection with Carmine Falcone would eventually cause him much stress, as Falcone used blackmail on Phillip to attempt to use the Wayne's as a conduit for his drugs into the city.

When Thomas joined the argument to help his brother Philip, he sealed his own fate. When Thomas was killed just a few weeks later, Philip was distraught with grief, throwing himself into an alcoholic spell until his brother in law Jacob had him committed in 1929. Philip would later emerge from rehab in the early 1940s and under Falcone's command attempt to wrest the nascent Wayne Industries from his nephew Bruce. Phillip would find his courage late in life, and was gunned down by Carmine Falcone when he attempted to stand up to him.


	11. Jacob Kane

Jacob Kane was born in 1898, the oldest of two children of the Kane family, an old money Gotham family with a rich military history (supposedly dating back to the American Revolution). Kane spent much of his early years struggling under the immense pressure to live up to his family name. He eventually found his stride as he signed up for the American Expeditionary Force and shipped off to the Western Front in 1916. It was here that he first met Thomas Wayne.

Though he would regret it for some time, Jacob was the one to invite Thomas to the ball wherein Thomas first began to court Jacob's younger sister Martha. Following their marriage Jacob distanced himself from his sister, focusing on his college studies so that he could obtain a commission in the U.S. Army. He would eventually return to Gotham City following the death of his sister, and after a lengthy legal battle would gain legal guardianship over his nephew Bruce Wayne in 1929. Not exactly a business expert, Kane placed Bruce's inheritance into a safe, ironically saving Bruce's fortune from complete destruction during Black Tuesday (the beginning of the Great Depression).

Kane was distant, although a much better guardian than Thomas had been. Still, he didn't know how to help Bruce cope with his grief, and instead used his family money to let Bruce do pretty much whatever he wanted, allowing Bruce to travel the globe and learn many tricks. Jacob would be drafted into the U.S. Army during their entrance into World War II, rising to the rank of Major General before dying of dysentery in the Pacific Front in 1944.


	12. Martha Wayne

Martha Wayne nee Kane was born in 1900, the much beloved youngest child and daughter of the prestigious Kane family. Unlike her brother, Martha was not saddled with as much burden over her family's legacy. By the time they tried to impress this upon her, Martha had already met and fell in love with the charismatic young veteran Thomas Wayne. Martha bought into her husband's ideals to reshape Gotham City, and soon the two were married and Martha was pregnant.

She was just as important to the "Wayne Legacy" as Thomas was - her Old Money heritage opened many doors for Thomas during the years of growth for the Wayne Fortune. Her childhood association with Carmine Falcone also allowed her to inspire her husband to stand up to Carmine, whom she had simply known as a "pompous bully". This would prove to be her undoing.

Martha is largely remembered for her warmth and grace, looked to as the picturesque "Lady of Gotham" for many years following her death.


	13. James Gordon

James Gordon was born in 1900, known as what many would call "The Lost Generation" - though his family had a military history, he would be too young to fight in World War I and too old to fight in World War II. He lived the high life as an MP in the 1920s, and was completely unprepared for the Great Depression. He moved home, working as a beat cop in Chicago. Where many cops took bribes to keep food on the table, James's pride kept him from doing so. This made it so that his wife would eventually divorce him, leaving with his daughter and son.

From there, Gordon would move to Gotham City, which was not much better than Chicago. However, without his family at his side, he threw himself into his work and if not for the timely arrival of Batman in 1939 he would've been killed by the Falcone Syndicate. Together, he and Batman eradicated crime in Gotham City. When the McCarthy Committee came to town in the late 1940s, Gordon was brought before them under rumors from all the crooked cops who had an agenda against him. The testimony of long-time Gotham resident Bruce Wayne helped exonerate him.

James would go on to become the Mayor of Gotham City in the 1950s and part of the 1960s, eventually retiring. By the 1970s he would be afflicted with Alzheimers and was unable to remember much of his exciting life. He died peacefully at the ripe age of 90.


	14. The Question

Victor Sage was taken into a Catholic orphanage at a young age, where he survived years of abuse. Sage would use a religious exemption to avoid service in World War I, and during the 1920s he was a famous boxer. Eventually this led him to the movie business. Sage was not a particularly attractive fellow (some would call him ugly) but his build made him perfect for a stunt double - frequently working with famous actor Basil Karlo.

It would later be discovered that Sage could affect a very suave voice, "perfect for radio". He ended up overdubbing many of Karlo's lines as Hollywood made the switch from silent films to those with sound. This made him an enemy of Karlo, albeit unbeknownst to him as Sage focused on his nighttime activity of running a private radio show.

Though he wouldn't be connected to it for many years, Victor Sage ran the nightly radio show "The Question" for nearly fifteen years, his smooth tones eventually becoming a staple in many American homes for more than a decade. The Question was a supposedly fictional tale following the exploits of a detective in an identity concealing mask. His tales just happened to match the exploits of an unknown real life vigilante who operated around the same time.

Sage would eventually contract lung cancer from frequent chain smoking, losing his voice and thus his main source of income. The elderly man turned back to stunt doubling in the early 1950s, but the strain eventually forced him to retire from that as well. It is said that he trained and helped raised the young Helena Bertinelli before his own death in the late 1950s.


	15. Zatara

Giovanni Zatara was a relatively famous stage magician in early 20th century England, and was approached by a young hard traveling Bruce Wayne in his quest to gain the necessary skills to eventually become Batman. Zatara would teach Bruce a number of tricks including sleight of hand, rope tricks, escape techniques, and "mind reading".

He was recruited by the British military during World War 2 as apart of the "Magic Gang", performing large scale magic tricks to camouflage British military movements (primarily in Egypt). He was the subject of numerous films and books about his supposed magical abilities, and also helped design the sets of many now classic 1950s science fiction films. He released a book detailing the secrets to many of his tricks ("The Book of Magic") which became popular among hippies in the 1960s.


	16. Black Canary I

Dinah Drake was born in 1910, the youngest daughter of a family of Italian immigrants. She grew up in New Orleans, becoming interested in jazz and forced to learn an instrument by her mother (a music lover). She had multiple unsuccessful starts at her music career, with it almost taking off at a New York club in 1934, but she was turned away because the majority of her backing band was African American (all friends from New Orleans). Her first marriage rose and fell during this same period.

Dinah would've made it big, but fate had her end up at the Iceberg Lounge, the premier singer there for almost four years and one of the few bright spots in Gotham City. She would eventually find blackmail on her employer Oswald Cobblepot, and would spend a few months in protective custody as the mob searched her - during this time she had a brief fling with the Batman.

Dinah eventually married Detective Quentin Lance and the two would soon have a daughter, right before Lance was shipped off to the Pacific. Quentin would return with serious PTSD and struggled with alcoholism for many years, although he tried his best to be a good father. Dinah was content to be done with the famous person's life, and transitioned to a typical 50s era housewife, focused on raising her daughter in suburbia.


	17. Captain Marvel

William "Billy" Batson was born in 1911, the son of an advertising salesman. Despite this, his family lived in relative poverty, he put himself through a small college with a job as a lifeguard and served as captain of the football team during this time as well. He had a love for flying, and had personally clocked in 400 hours of fly time before Pearl Harbor.

William was drafted into the United States Army, but found that he did not meet the minimum weight requirement. He then attempted to join the Air Force, but found a similar problem. After convincing them to run the test again, he came in on the correct weight. Batson's suave personality meant that he was assigned to a symbolic unit for nearly 9 months, but after immense pressure he convinced his superiors to ship him off to a combat squad serving on the Western Front.

Batson left the Air Force as a Colonel, and found his way to Hollywood, gaining fame by starring the critically acclaimed "The Greatest Gift". Batson rarely talked about his time in the military, and became famous as the star of multiple Western films through the 1950s. He also made money as a motivational speaker for employees of Sivana Incorporated, and he developed a good relationship with Thaddeus whom he considered "a second father" and whom influenced Batson's later conservative policies.

Batson made waves in the Republican Party in the early 1960s after making a speech endorsing Barry Goldwater for President. He used this recognition to win the Governor's race in California from 1967 to 1975. Batson would make a primary challenge against Richard Nixon in 1976 as Nixon attempted to run for a third term for President. Though he was unsuccessful in unseating Nixon, Nixon lost the subsequent general election and Batson was able to win the primary and general in his own right in 1980.

William Batson is now a popular figure in the Republican Party, after having a very successful term as President from 1980 to 1988. Afterwards, he created a foundation to fund education efforts in Eastern Europe as the Iron Curtain fell, and even lent his voice to a few animated features in the 1990s. He died in 2001, giving the entirety of his fortune away to charity.

William Batson is one many choices currently being considered to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.


	18. Batman I

Bruce Wayne was born in 1920, very shortly after the marriage of Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane. He grew up in a much different upbringing than his father - his youth was spent frollicking the massive hallways of a mansion, his loving parents always at hand to dote on him. Though it can perhaps be said that Thomas and Martha babied Bruce too much, as their untimely death in 1928 was taken especially hard by him. Of course, being raised by his alcoholic Uncle Phillip and then by his distant Uncle Jacob didn't help him properly recover either.

By the time Bruce met Alfred in 1939, he was returning from many years spent across the world learning various techniques in martial arts, detective work, science, magic, and the sort for his planned war against crime. Bruce would appear as the Batman in Gotham City in 1939, surviving a tumultuous first year fighting the Falcone Crime Syndicate (which he would eventually take down) and then dealing with the rise of the Gotham Rogues as the 1940s progressed.

On the business side, Bruce regained control of his inheritance and formed Wayne Industries, putting many poor in Gotham to work making weapons for the Allies in World War 2. In his Batman persona, Wayne would be the subject of a manhunt at the behest of the McCarthy Commission in the late 1940s, later revealed to be apart of a plan by Bane to wear him down. Bane would ultimately triumph, breaking the Batman's back. It was then that Bruce was recruited by Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins, his back healed by them and he was trained to be Ra's successor. Bruce ultimately declined Ra's offer to be his heir and returned to Gotham City, making an enemy of the legendary Demon's Head and unaware that he had father a child with Ra's daughter Talia.

Bruce would face his final threat in the early 1960s as Ra's finally came to collect - and despite his dip in the Lazarus Pit, the years of being Batman had finally gotten to Bruce and in a crucial moment he was killed by Ra's al Ghul.


	19. Bane

Bane was born in 1920 a poor Spanish country boy. Bane became involved in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, fighting on the side of the Communists. His bravery and natural talent led to him being recruited by the Russians following the Communist loss in the war, and he gained infamy among Nazis during World War II for his brutality in hunting them down.

His bloodthirst was too much for even the Russians and he was expelled, seeking training with the League of Assassins after the war. He was being trained to succeed Ra's al Ghul until he went rogue; he eventually found his way to Gotham City posing as an immigrant cab driver while he began his epic bid to take down the Batman, using the McCarthy Committee and Arkham Asylum to place tremendous pressure on Bruce Wayne and Batman.

He would eventually capture and break the back of the tired Wayne, running rampant around Gotham City for a few months before Wayne's return. With the League of Assassins at his back, Bruce was finally able to best Bane who was then taken into captivity at the hands of Ra's al Ghul.

Bane was kept as a league prisoner for years, before finally being killed by Ra's as he grew tired of torturing Bane.


	20. The Joker I

Jack Napier was born in 1922. His poor family suffered greatly under the Great Depression, and Napier put on hold his comedian career to join the Falcone Crime Syndicate to make money to support his family. He was accidentally thrown into a vat of chemicals during a battle with the Batman in 1940, transforming him into the devious Joker.

As Falcone's Crime Syndicate fell, the Joker was the first of many that would become known as "The Rogues", a group of colorful, deranged, dangerous criminals running rampant around Gotham City. He killed many, many people, sometimes in absolutely absurd ways as apart of some sick joke. He was interred at Arkham Asylum for nearly six years, eventually released by nurse Harleen Quinzel in 1949 (working into Bane's larger plan to unlock the entire asylum).

Napier would be crippled by the Batman following his latest outing, leaving him to simply direct Harley Quinn on her own criminal rampage for much of the 1950s. He would die of stomach cancer, an after effect of the chemical bath that transformed him into the Joker. He left between a pregnant Harleen Quinzel.


	21. The Knight II

Cyril Sheldrake (born 1926) was the son of the famous second Knight, Percival Sheldrake. His father was killed in 1939 when Cyril was only thirteen years old. Cyril joined the British Army as a water boy in 1942 and tried for years to live up to his father's legacy - eventually donning the legendary Knight armor in 1944 (at the age of 18) and helped extract many troops during the failed Operation Market Garden.

Cyril would serve mostly as a propaganda piece for the British during the post war years, before becoming a secret agent for much of the 1950s going up against such foes as Le Chiffre, Dr. No, Goldfinger, and Blofeld and serving as a premier commando in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He would be killed during the Falkland Invasion in 1982, shot in the neck by a sniper rifle.


End file.
